| A | B |
|---|
| civilian labor force | total number of people 16 years or older either employed or actively seeking work |
| blue collar | craft workers, workers in manufacturing |
| professionals | highly trained individuals usually with a higher degree |
| service workers | those who provide services directly to individuals |
| unskilled workers | those whose jobs require no specialized training |
| white collar workers | category of workers employed in offices, sales, or professional positions |
| semiskilled workers | those whose jobs require some training, often using modern tecnology |
| skilled workers | someone who has learned a trade or craft either through a vocational school or as an apprentice to an experienced worker |
| minimum wage law | sets the lowest legal hourly wage rate that may be paid to certain types of workers |
| labor union | association of workers organized to improve wages and working conditions for its members |
| strike | deliberate work stoppage by workers to force an employer to give in to their demands |
| collective bargaining | process by which unions and employers negotiate the conditions of employment |
| mediation | occurs when a neutral person steps in and tries to get both sides to reach an agreement |
| cost of living adjustment | union contract providing for an additional wage increase each year if the general level of prices in the economy rises beyond a certain amt. |
| arbitration | two sides submit the issues they can't agree on to a 3rd party for a final decision |
| picketing | activity in which striking workers walk up and down in front of a workplace carrying signs that state their disagreement with the company |
| lockout | when management prevents workers from returning to work until they agree to a new contract |
| injunction | legal order of a court preventing an activity like a strike |
| scabs | workers brought in by management to break a strike |
| craft union | made of skilled workers in a specific trade or industry |
| closed shop | companies had to hire only union memebers |
| union shop | a new employee must join the union after a specific period of time |
| agency shop | employees are not required to join the union, but must pay the union dues |
| right to work laws | state laws forbidding union shops and closed shops; workers are allowed to continue working a particualr job without joining a union |
| AFL (1886) | first permanent labor organization |
| AFL-CIO | formed in 1955 to merge the two major union organizations |
| Samuel Gompers | founded the AFL |
